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Opinion

  • Hope for water’s future rests at...

    Like many of the Henry County Middle School students who walked around the edge of the first lagoon at the Waste Water Treatment Plant in New Castle on Halloween, there are a few things I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

    The tomato plants growing up through the rocks that line the lagoon’s edge is one indelible image.

    The veritable sea of white, green, purple, blue and pink plastic tampon applicators, littered along the rocks  is another. In one photograph I took, I counted more than 50. It was a little disturbing and unforgettable.

  • Children steal the show on holidays

    By Candy Clarke

     

    How do they do it?! These tiny little creatures we call children always manage to steal the show. Holidays are no exception. Two years ago, while visiting my oldest brother and his family in Florida for Thanksgiving; I watched in wonderment as my brother’s only grandchild stole the show and everyone’s heart.

  • Thanks to, sympathy for all veterans

    Submitted by Jim Greisch

    Nov. 11, another Veterans Day.

    Fewer older veterans. More younger vets

    “Thank you for your service.”  Most vets hear that almost every day on television, directed toward someone on camera. Many others hear from someone on first meeting, or from a relative,  friend, or even a co-worker.

    The word service has many meanings. A lot of vets have manned duty stations during peacetime… quietly doing hum-drum chores, standing guard and going on liberty. (Yes, I was a sailor.)

  • Rick Rand for State House

    As election day — Tuesday, Nov. 6 — nears, the voters of Henry County will help decide who will represent them as their state representative in State House District 47 for the next two years. Currently we have a person who has served us as an outstanding legislator since 2003. That person is Rick Rand, someone who has always been there for the citizens of Henry County.

  • Be part of the CURE for bullying

    Bullying has come a very, very long way since my middle school days.

    At that time, it consisted mainly of prank calls, hallway teasing and on one occasion a particularly clever stunt during PE in which one of the boys in my class put a frog in my pocket without me knowing. The ensuing shriek, I have no doubt, was quality entertainment for him.

    The prank calls at home were particularly cruel. The “surprise gifts” in my backpack were quite annoying.

    The hallway gossip was brutal. And this was just seventh grade.

  • Flat tire makes for memorable trip

    By Candy Clarke

    The season for moose and caribou hunting in the Interior of Alaska was about to end. On Wednesday night, neither my husband, Frank, nor I had a moose. I suggested we try hunting for caribou Thursday - something we had not yet tried. We secured the necessary permits and loaded our gear. We were all smiles and optimistic about our new venture.

  • Unsung heroes in the county’s past

    I
     have recently started on another bit of history in the county that continues to interest me: the Civil War. The farther I look into the history of the county the more intriguing history I find.
    In last week’s edition, I wrote about Capt. I. N. Johnston of Pleasureville. Johnston was one of the officers who was instrumental in carrying out the great escape from Libby Prison. More than 100 people escaped through a tunnel dug in the company of rats that regularly climbed over the freedom seekers as they worked in shifts digging.

  • Beware the hand that awards you

    Eminence Independent School District recently received an award along with three other school districts for their academic success by the Bluegrass Institute as ‘Diamonds in the Rough’. Any school district that is recognized for their work and success given the lack of state and federal funding should be congratulated.

    EIS and Henry County both should be commended for what they have done in creating opportunity for the students in the county.

  • Angry bear blocks road just for a...

    By Candy Clarke

    We will remember this trip back to Alaska as the year of the bear. We have seen more bear this time than in all the previous trips combined!

  • Debate, postulate don’t regurgitate

    My hat goes off to Joe Yates. He definitely poked a certain constituency in the eye with his letter on July 25 and again last week.

    The letters we’ve received since Yates’ initial letter have been, overwhelmingly, in support of Geoff Davis and against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

    Each letter has had, to some degree, a “fact” that has been resoundingly debunked by the major fact checking services.

  • The Silver Run fun sans grizzly...

    By Candy Clarke

     

  • Remembering Michael will help us...

    Remember Michael as the first grader who stood out from all the others at Campbellsburg Elementary School. I was a nervous, inexperienced new teacher of elementary P.E. and all those little faces just blended in as they gathered expectantly around me for their first day of P. E. Michael stood out. He was taller, he looked you in the eye and talked like a little adult. He seemed very self-assured even then.

  • Conversation: a necessity and a...

    In this week’s issue, I have written several profile stories, which show off our local talent.
    Whether it is a local musician, sound engineer and actor Jeff Downey or global agriculture missionary, FFA advisor and Henry County High School’s Vocational Agriculture teacher Lindsey Davie, Henry County continues to reveal hidden jewels within its hills and hollers.

  • Even the North Pole needs a haunted...

    By Candy Clarke

    Years ago, my 14-year-old daughter, Katherine, approached me for a loan. She had been babysitting and saving her money, but she still needed more. We agreed to the terms of the loan and then, I asked if I might know the reason. She announced that I had always told her if she had an idea not to give up on it. Whereupon she proceeded to tell me what her idea was and why she wanted a loan.

  • What history lurks in your nickname?

     

  • Dipnetting at Kenai in a moonlight...

    by Candy Clarke

     

  • Alaska: the land of the midnight sun

    By Candy Clarke

     

    Remember when you were in grade school and the bell rang for recess? Do you remember how happy you were to escape the classroom and play outside with your friends? Well, folks, that’s exactly the way it feels to be retired and live in Alaska during the summer months. Alaska, also known as the land of the midnight sun, becomes one gigantic playground with perfectly sane adults reverting back to childhood; our toys  are just different from the toys of earlier years.

  • Big ideas don’t come from just big...

    In this week’s issue of the Henry County Local, I met with several business owners that were expanding their business or pursuing new avenues of revenue.

    I also attended the Forecastle Festival in Louisville where more than 30,000 people attended for three days of music, art and activism. Not preachy activism, but practical means for sustainability in regards to local economies and the environment as a whole. I  attended the Henry County Public School Board meeting where they are pursuing a program that integrates the Internet as a learning tool.

  • Technology changes prompt font...

    Sometimes I’m convinced that technology is more difficult that it’s worth.

    As reliant as we are on technology, particularly at the Local, to get the paper out each week, technology  slaps us in the face a little.

    Unfortunately, when technology quirks happen, it often shows in our finished product. And for that, we apologize to you, our readers.

  • If the Amish can call, so can...

    In my job, I enjoy telling everyone’s story. I consider storytelling to be a part of my responsibility — honoring the residents of the county.

    Another necessary evil of my job is acting as a watchdog for the community: getting the correct facts and asking the tough questions. In my experience as your county reporter, I don’t considerate that part of my job to be hard but an honor.

    The most difficult part of my job is getting the city, county and publicly appointed state officials to return my phone calls.